Family Matters III
by teanc09
Summary: Sequel to Family Matters II. Co-written with IWorkWithPens. Set post season one. Will and Mac realize that family is what matters.
1. Chapter 1

Will walked into their bedroom and hoped tonight wasn't like the previous nights he'd experienced since Mackenzie had taken medical leave. He was hoping that she was tired out from her physical therapy, but when he looked at her he knew his hopes were for naught. Mac was sitting on their bed with notebooks out and her laptop in front of her. Why couldn't she simply concentrate on getting better?

They were four weeks post surgery. Mac had been doing physical therapy for two weeks now. She was getting stronger and she was feeling better than she had in years. The struggle now was for Will to keep her from doing too much.

"Hi," he said sitting next to her and kissed her.

"Good show tonight."

"It's still a struggle every day, Kenz."

She smiled at him and took his hand in hers. "I know it is, but it won't be too much longer until I'm back at work and it will be me back in your ear."

"I can't wait. What do you have for me tonight?"

"Go grab your dinner, I ordered Chinese and yours is in the refrigerator."

"Thanks, that sounds good, right back," he said getting off the bed. As he was about to leave the room he turned and asked, "do you need anything?"

"No thanks."

When he returned a few minutes later she had spread out the information she'd gathered today and was preparing her pitch.

"This is really good. Did you order from a new place? It tastes different."

"The normal place was closed today for a private party, so I did order from a different restaurant and I think I like it."

"The food tastes fresher. Maybe we have a new favorite place?"

She smiled at him. "We might. Why don't you change and finish your dinner and then we'll talk about what I've found out about today."

Will put his dinner down and walked into his closet, grabbing sweats and a t-shirt and changed. He was back a minute later but that was long enough for Mac to sneak a few bites of his dinner. She smiled at him and handed him the carton as he sat down.

"Want some more?" he offered.

"No, I'm good, thanks," she said and kissed him.

"So what have you been up to today?"

"Researching how NGOs, such as Médecins Sans Frontières, are helping in war torn regions."

"What got you started on this?" he asked. Ever since Mackenzie had been stuck home on medical leave, she spent her days listening to NPR or watching CNN or ACN or any one of a number of daytime talk shows, searching for the untold story…the truth that wasn't being told.

"An email from a friend who is with Médecins Sans Frontières. He's in Kabul running one of the mobile clinics for all who have either returned to Kabul, or are seeking the safety of the city. There are over fifty camps in and around Kabul and these people are living in tents without floors."

"Why did he email?" Will asked.

"He needs help. He's got a patient, a little girl, who needs to be evacuated for medical care. The problem is that she has no family."

"Mackenzie," he said in a warning tone.

"Will," she whined back. "I'm just doing some research for him. Trying to find a hospital that will take her on pro bono and a family or foster care program that will house her."

"You've been out of the hospital barely a month. You've had two discs in your spine replaced. You've lost ten pounds and had two blood transfusions during surgery. Can you please take a fucking break Mac?!" he shouted.

She grabbed his hand and pulled his head down on her shoulder. She knew he was still skittish at times. He had a hard time letting her out of his sight and, while sometimes her renewed energy and ability to move around without his help comforted him…showed him that she was recovering, sometimes it also scared the shit out of him.

"I'm fine Will. The doctor said I'm recovering beautifully. The surgery went well and the blood loss was just a fluke. I was probably a little anemic or something. But I'm fine now. You have to stop doing this to yourself."

And he knew she was right. At the rate he was going, Mackenzie would be back on her feet just in time to nurse him through a bleeding ulcer.

"I'm sorry. I'm trying, Mac. I really am."

"I know you are. Now, go put your food in the fridge and bring us some wine and we'll sit here and relax and watch Elliot try not to kill Don," she whispered in his ear.

"Why would Elliot kill Don? And since when are you allowed to drink again?" he asked, knowing full well that with the amount of drugs she was on, alcohol was prohibited.

"Don and Maggie are fighting again, so Don's being a prick to everyone within five feet of him, or so I'm told. And I'm off the pain killers and the antibiotics and all I'm taking now is some Tylenol every now and again. I haven't taken anything today, so we're celebrating!" she said proudly.

He was stunned. Mackenzie hadn't been off painkillers in years.

"It worked?" he asked, a little teary-eyed. "The surgery…it worked?"

"Seems it has. Quiet though, I don't want to jinx it," she said softly. She was getting a little choked up herself. She hadn't been in this little pain in years. It wasn't all gone, but it was at a manageable level…something she imagined most people who had suffered a few sports injuries lived with. It was no longer that deep, aching, mind-numbing pain that at times drove her to brink of madness.

He kissed her soundly and jumped up from the bed and ran for the kitchen.

"I didn't say I needed the wine right this instant Will! Slow down!" she shouted after him.

He returned carrying a bottle of Dom Perignon and two champagne flutes.

"What's all this?" she asked, surprised.

"I didn't want to jinx it either, but I wanted to be prepared for the celebration I hoped we could have," he said eagerly, popping open the champagne and filling the two glasses.

"A toast," he said dramatically, holding up his glass toward her. "To my beautiful wife, who scared me half to death and drives me crazy most days…" he began.

"Hey! Isn't this supposed to be cheery and heartfelt?" she reminded.

"As I was saying…to my wife. You have no idea how happy you make me every day and no idea how badly I wanted this for you Kenz. To your health," he said solemnly, clinking his glass against hers. She swallowed her tears and tried to take a sip of her champagne around the giant lump in her throat.

Will curled into her side and nuzzled her neck and heard her whisper, "I stopped taking some other medication too." That stopped him cold.

"Please tell me you're not talking about what I think you're talking about Mackenzie," he said firmly, pulling away from her and looking her dead in the eyes.

"But I thought you wanted a baby Will? That's why we went ahead with the surgery in the first place?!" she exclaimed.

"No, it sure the hell is NOT the reason we turned to surgery Mac! You were in pain…horrible pain. I couldn't bear to see you live like that. But it was a big risk Mackenzie! What if it hadn't worked out this well? What if you were still in pain or, worse yet, what if that 'little blood loss' you so flippantly refer to had killed you?! I'm not going through that again Mackenzie!" he shouted, chest puffing out in exertion and fear.

"Will, calm down, please? Women have babies everyday…all over the world without any modern medical facilities and they do just fine. Surely, with all the care I would receive here, it would be safe," she assured him.

"You can't guarantee that Mac. You're special. You've had medical problems and you're just now on the road to recovery. Please, just let it go Kenz?" he pleaded.

"_Let it go?_" she asked, stunned. "You just want me to _let go_ of the idea of motherhood? Of the idea of having your child?" she fell back against the pillows, crestfallen.

"Please? For me?" he begged, kneeling before her and wrapping her hands up in his. "I can't do it Mac. I can't watch you take that risk. What if something happened to your back? Or you needed a c-section and you started bleeding again? What if they couldn't stop it this time? I can't risk that Mackenzie."

"I can," she whispered.

"What?"

"I can risk it Will. I want a baby. I want _your_ baby. I'm not backing down on this."

He backed away from her, astonished that she would do this to him…to them. Make him choose.

"I have to get out of here," he said, stumbling his way toward the door.

"Will?!" she shouted after him, but he was gone.

Will wandered the streets around the apartment for a while, thinking. He wasn't sure what emotion he was feeling more strongly, fear or happiness. He was thrilled that the surgery was a success, so why couldn't Mac accept that gift and be happy? Happy with him?

He needed to talk to people who knew Mac as well as he did and fortunately there were now two people living in the city that fit that requirement, Meggie and Michael.

Will made his way to the brownstone and rang the bell. Only when Michael answered the door in his robe did Will realize how late it really was and the first words out of his mouth were an apology. "I'm so sorry, Michael, I forgot how late…."

Michael interrupted him and said, "nonsense my boy, come in. Scotch?"

"Please," Will said sitting on the couch.

Michael finally got a good look at Will and saw that he was scared and angry and probably a lot of other emotions he couldn't pinpoint.

"What's happened?" Michael asked.

"Mac's surgery was successful, she's off all her meds."

"All of them?" he asked, shocked.

Will smiled and nodded his head.

"So why are you here instead of celebrating with Mackenzie?"

"She's off all her meds, _all_ of them." Will was hedging. He didn't want to have to tell Michael that his forty-year-old daughter stopped taking her birth control pills.

Michael finally realized to what Will was referring. "I thought you wanted children."

"Not at the expense of my wife. She could have died during surgery, she had to have blood…it was only four weeks ago, why am I the only one that remembers this?"

Michael handed Will his scotch and sat down next to him. "Did Mac not tell you that she wanted to get pregnant and that was one of the goals of the surgery?"

"You know she did," he said slamming back the scotch.

"And have you changed your mind? Do you not want a child with Mac?"

"It's not as simple as you're making it out to be, Michael."

"She's been in pain since she was a teenager, Will. If the pain is gone why shouldn't she live her life?"

Will was up walking back and forth, the length of the living room.

Meggie came down the stairs and watched Will pace like a caged animal.

She stopped him in his path and pulled him into her arms. He knew that Meggie would help him make sense of this pregnancy idea of Mac's. "I don't understand," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"I've told you this before, you're in love…worrying is what you do," she said taking his hand and pulling him to the couch.

"She's just getting back on her feet."

"Good thing it takes two to get pregnant then, isn't it, William?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you need to talk to your wife."

"You've talked to her?" Will asked. He should have know Meggie would be the first person Mac would turn to. Apparently she had phoned her the minute he left the apartment!

"We've been talking for a while and she knows she needs to listen to what you have to say, but you need to tell her out of love what it is you want, not out of fear."

"There are so many things that could happen to her, Meggie, why take the added risk?"

"My boy, that is the fear talking. I know what you went through during the surgery, I was right there with you. You've got to let this fear go. If you let it, this fear will rule your life. Would you rather have Kenzie in so much pain that she can't move? Then she would be at home, confined to a bed, and you could keep a close eye on her for the rest of your life. Is that what you would prefer?"

"You know I wouldn't."

"Maybe you need to tell her what you _do_ want to have happen. Maybe she needs to recover for a while before you try for a baby. She's not going to want to wait for a long time, but she's very smart and won't do anything to put herself in harm's way. She loves you way too much to do that to you."

"How mad was she when you talked to her?" he asked sheepishly.

"She was sad and upset, she was not mad at all."

"Fuck," he said leaning back against the back of the couch, his hands over his face. Will collected himself and said, "I'm sorry to barge in so late, please forgive me."

"I'll hear none of that, you are welcome here any time," Meggie said and hugged him. "Now go home and talk to your wife."

Will shook Michael's hand and kissed Meggie's cheek on his way out. He hailed a cab and was back home in just a few minutes. When he got off the elevator he saw her out on the balcony.

"Hi," he said quietly, trying to gauge her emotional state.

"Hi."

"Can we talk some, inside maybe?" he asked.

She didn't answer him but she turned and walked inside. He saw how red her eyes were when she turned, along with the tear tracks on her cheeks.

When he walked in she was sitting on the couch. He sat down with her and turned toward her. "I'm sorry, Kenz."

"You've got to get over this fear."

"It's not that easy and you know it."

"Did you not say to me that if I got pregnant after surgery that was great?"

"I did."

"Have you changed your mind and you don't want children?"

"Not at the expense of you," he said taking her hand.

"What would make you feel better, my doctor telling you that a pregnancy would be okay?"

"That would help…maybe" he hedged.

"He's already told you that, before surgery. We sat in his office and he said for what I want to do surgery was the only option. We told him that we wanted to have a baby and that I wanted to work. We gave him all the information and he made an informed decision, Will."

"That was before."

"Fuck, Will," she said getting off the couch and pulling her hand from his. She was up pacing the room.

"Why did you go off birth control?" he asked.

"Because it takes time for my body to regulate itself again. Even if we were trying, it could take months and months before I would be ready to be pregnant. I've been on the pill since I was a teenager."

"I didn't know that," he said.

"Asking me questions instead of running out of here would have been a better idea."

"You have no idea how scared I was when that nurse came out during your surgery."

"I get that, Will, I do. But none of us is guaranteed a tomorrow. If we live our lives in fear of the unknown we aren't living. I want to live, Will, with you."

"Can we talk about a compromise?"

"Sure," she replied.

"You stay off the birth control pills but we take it very slow. You need to be fully recovered and we get the green light from your doctor that we can start trying and if he says that you shouldn't be pregnant, we don't move forward."

"Do I get a say in any of this? It is my body."

"But you're my wife."

"And what you say is the final word? I don't think so."

"That's not what I meant and you know it, Mac."

"No, I don't. You've been acting like a completely different person since I had surgery."

"I'm scared, sue me," he said and was up pacing.

"We aren't getting anywhere right now. I'm going to go check on my research for Marc," she said and walked back to the bedroom.

She was sitting on the bed with her laptop when Will sat on the bed. "Any leads yet?"

"No, but I've just started, I'm not ready to give up on finding help for this little girl."

She looked really tired to Will.

"What's wrong with the child?"

"She needs surgery to repair a heart problem. She doesn't have family or anyone to try to get her somewhere that she can get the care she needs. She's four. She should be having tea parties and playing dress up instead of living in a tent with no floor during the winter in Kabul. Plus, she's a girl in a society that doesn't place the same value on a little girl as they do a little boy, so that's another strike against her."

"I'm happy to make some calls, if that would help any," he offered.

"Thanks, anything helps at this point. There's a time limit, that's why Marc emailed me, if the repair isn't done soon, she won't make it to five."

He saw her wipe a tear from her cheek and close her laptop, placing it on the table next to the bed. She got up and went into the bathroom.

When she returned a few minutes later he was in the same position. "I don't like it when we fight, Kenz. We argue all the time at work and I love it…but this is different."

"I'm not trying to hurt you. You knew I wanted to be pregnant, that I wanted to have your child."

"We also talked about surrogacy and adoption."

"And if that's what we end up having to do, that's fine, but that's not the first step."

"Meggie said you wouldn't do anything to put yourself in harm's way."

"And you think I would?"

"You can be very focused when you want something, Kenz."

"That doesn't mean that I'd place myself in harm's way. Do you think I love you?"

That got his attention. "I know that you love me."

"Would I ever do anything to deliberately hurt you?"

"Of course not," he said and realized what he'd said.

"That includes getting pregnant. If I thought there was any chance that a pregnancy would hurt me, I wouldn't do it, I couldn't do that to you."

"Can we agree to think about this until you're fully recovered, or at least recovered enough for your doctor to say he's comfortable with us trying to conceive? Hell, Mac, we can't even make love for at least another fourteen days."

She smiled at him. "Counting down, are you?"

"You know I am. I love you and I want to be on the same page, Kenz, I'm trying… I am."

"All I can ask is that you try, Billy. And, by the way, no more midnight trips to the brownstone without Lonny. If Charlie knew he'd have a heart attack," Mac reminded him as she climbed into bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Will tried desperately over the next two weeks not to hover, not to push or cajole her into seeing things from his point of view. He tried to understand what it must feel like for her. While he had received the shock of his life during that surgery…she must suddenly feel like an entirely new person. A person no longer hampered by crippling pain.

Mackenzie had always been independent and stubborn, but now she was also free-spirited and carefree in a way he'd never seen from her before. He also knew that she was more determined than ever to have a child. She seemed to watch mothers with their young children with rapt attention these days…her eyes lighting up at the sight of them. It terrified him.

"It's been a while since I've seen you Will. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" Jacob Habib said as he climbed the stairs to the front door of his office one morning, only to find a certain anchorman sitting on the stoop, lost in thought.

"Mackenzie wants to have a baby," Will blurted out, before they were even inside the office.

"Well, usually that's something to celebrate, but you don't look all that happy at the moment," Jack replied, sweeping his arm out in a gesture implying Will should have a seat in one of the plush leather arm chairs within the office.

But Will couldn't sit still…hadn't been able to for a few days now. If he wasn't at his desk deep in concentration on work or sitting before a camera during a broadcast, Will was unable to relax long enough to lounge around. Today was no different. He found himself pacing the length of Jacob Habib's office.

"I'm happy!" he shouted, wringing his hands and clenching his teeth.

"Well, thanks for explaining that to me, because from all appearances you are a man of the edge."

"Ok, I'd be a little _more_ happy if Mackenzie would just be satisfied with feeling better and getting ready to go back to work. Why isn't that enough for her?" Will asked plaintively.

"I take it this has something to do with the complications Mackenzie suffered during her back surgery?" Habib asked. Will had finally been forced to call the man and attend an emergency therapy session a few days after Mac's surgery because he couldn't sleep and he couldn't function and if he wanted Habib to call in a refill for his sleeping pills he had to acquiesce to the man's demand to come in to see him first.

"Yes," Will said quietly.

"Are you still having problems dealing with your fears of being left behind?" Habib asked.

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean? Being left behind?! It sounds like Mackenzie forgot me at the train station! She almost died!" Will shouted. Why didn't anyone else seem to take this as seriously as he did?

"No, she didn't Will. Her blood pressure dipped. She lost more blood than was normal for that type of procedure and, as a precaution; her surgeon ordered a blood transfusion. Why are you so intent on viewing a minor surgical complication as a major near-death experience?"

Will looked at the man and tried to fight the urge to hit him. No one understood, not even his fucking psychiatrist!

"Is this really about the surgery Will?" Habib asked.

"Of course it is. Mackenzie's body has been through enough. She doesn't need to put it through a pregnancy at age forty as well."

"Plenty of women have babies at Mackenzie's age and beyond. She lives in New York City, not a dusty third world nation. You are both rather well-to-do people who have all the best medical care at your disposal. There is no reason to believe that Mackenzie would have anything other than a safe and healthy pregnancy."

"I'm sure CNN thought she'd be safe out in the field with the Marines too. Didn't keep her from getting stabbed," Will mumbled.

"And do you feel somehow responsible for that?" Habib asked.

"No! The fucking Taliban was responsible for that! Or the Marines who didn't keep the crowds away from her. Or Charlie for letting her leave ACN, or…" Will trailed off.

"Or you?"

"What?! Of course I wasn't responsible! I wasn't event there!" Will shouted, finally looking the man straight in the eyes and glaring.

"No, you weren't. Are you still feeling guilty about that?"

"Why would I feel guilty? Mackenzie cheated, Mackenzie left, and CNN sent her to a warzone. How did I become culpable in that?" Will asked in shock.

"She left because of you."

"No she didn't. She left because…." Will started, but he didn't know quite how to finish.

"She left because you told her to." Habib reminded him of what he had said over and over in therapy. For a man who had only recently managed to forgive Mackenzie, it wasn't really all that surprising that he still hadn't fully forgiven himself, for all the hurts and fears and punishments he had heaped upon her over the years.

"Yeah, she left because I told her to," Will admitted, slouching down in the chair in front of Habib and dropping his head into his hands.

"And you still feel guilty about it," Habib said firmly.

"I do?" Will asked, and then tearfully admitted "yeah, I do."

"You didn't do anything wrong Will. You and Mackenzie broke up due to her infidelity, something that would cause many couples to split up. She made a career choice that would take her away from you for a while, which you probably both needed at the time and, unfortunately, she was injured."

Will just nodded glumly.

"But she survived that. And now, she has recovered from a surgery that has left her pain free for the first time in years and she wants to enjoy life. She wants to create life. There's really nothing astounding about that Will."

"But I don't want her to," Will whined.

"Do you not want children? Because that is something you need to discuss with your wife Will, not your therapist. I can't somehow counsel you into changing your mind about becoming a parent. It's something you either want or you don't. There's very little gray area on this issue."

"I never thought I wanted them until Kenz came along. Hell, I thought we were very nearly ready to walk down the aisle and start procreating like bunnies a few years ago," Will said with a lopsided grin on his face.

"Then what's changed? If you were so ready to face parenthood with Mackenzie five years ago, what is different now?" Habib asked curiously.

"I don't know," Will responded meekly, wringing his hands together.

"I don't know is a bullshit excuse Will. You _do_ know. You just don't want to talk about it. Why don't you want to start a family with Mackenzie?" Habib pushed, leaning forward in his chair and boring his eyes into his patient.

"I already have a family! I don't need Mac to risk her life to give me any more of a family than I have right now! It's perfect right now!" Will shouted angrily.

"And you think a baby might change that perfection?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. Mackenzie doesn't do well with change. Last time she thought we were moving too fast she ran off and fucked Brian Brenner. And besides, Mackenzie already gave me my family back…her. Mac and Michael and Meggie _are_ my family…finally. And I don't want to jeopardize that," he whispered.

"You've never really had a family, have you Will?" Habib asked carefully.

"Of course I have! Did you think I hatched from an egg, fully formed, or something?! Of course I had a family," he said, and then whispered "a totally fucked up family, but a family nonetheless."

"That's sort of my point Will. Your family was anything but normal and loving and supportive. You had to protect your mother and your siblings from an abusive, alcoholic father. And the minute you were done with that, the minute everyone was safe, you high-tailed it out of that small, Nebraska town as fast as you could, and you never looked back. You barely speak to your own biological family, but you told me yourself, that you missed being with Mackenzie's family after the two of you split up. The McHales have always been more of a solid family support system for you than your own family ever was."

"And?" Will said sarcastically, losing his patience with this particular topic.

"And you don't want anything to jeopardize that family. You don't want Mackenzie to risk her life having a child and you don't want that new dynamic of parenthood to change your relationship with her either. It's a very fine line you seem to think you're walking. Trying to keep everything the same, everything perfect, so nothing can topple what you apparently think is a very fragile union."

Will gave him a dirty look. "My marriage is not a fucking fragile union! We've been through more in the last couple of months than most marriages go through in a lifetime and we're still here…we're still together. We don't know how to be apart. When we try that she runs off to warzones and I drink myself into oblivion and pander to the masses. So don't you dare talk about my wife and me as if we're fucking teenagers who ran off to Las Vegas to elope without knowing a damn thing about each other!"

"_I _wasn't implying that Will…you were," Habib told him.

"I wasn't implying anything of the sort! Apparently you were inferring it."

"Will, you're the one who seems to think that the slightest change to the status quo will undermine your relationship with Mackenzie, not me."

Oh, Will thought, now I get it. Maybe the man had a point. Will knew he had a unique ability to worry about _everything_ that could possibly go wrong. He was afraid Mackenzie might die, he was afraid Mackenzie might leave him, he was afraid that he'd lose his relationship with not just her, but with Michael and Meggie as well. He was afraid of, well, everything. No wonder he feared having children.

"So, this isn't so much about the baby itself, but of all the other fears I have bubbling beneath the surface?" Will asked.

"Having a child is a frightening experience for anyone Will. You suddenly become entirely responsible for another human being. But for you, having a child is terrifying. It puts at risk your wife, the only person you have ever truly had a meaningful relationship with, and it puts at risk the family you have built around her. You don't have a lot of significant connections with people Will, and for some reason, you think a child would put you at risk of losing the only lasting bonds you have built. I happen to think it would just make those bonds stronger. You might want to think about that a little before you force your wife to give up her dream of motherhood."

Will just nodded numbly. This was a lot to take in. Damn, where was a bottle of Scotch when you needed it?

Will made it to the office and sat alone in his office with the lights off just thinking. Thinking about Mac, thinking about a possible baby and their immediate and extended family. Was Habib right? Would a baby make the family stronger?

He was brought out of his thoughts by an alarm on his phone reminding him to meet Mac at her doctor's office in thirty minutes. He knew Mac would ask about Jim and the status of the show, so before he left he needed to check in with Jim.

Jim was sitting at his desk working when Will approached him. "How's it going?" Will asked.

"Hey, good. It's good. We had a productive pitch meeting and we've got some good stories planned for tonight. Are you okay? I didn't even know you were here."

"The shows solid and you're good?"

"Completely solid," Jim replied.

"Good, I'll be back in a while," Will said.

He met Lonny in the lobby and he drove him to Mac's doctor's office. Will walked into the office and saw Mac at the counter talking with the scheduler. He didn't interrupt them, he just listened and placed his hand on Mac's lower back and rubbed gently. She turned and smiled at him, placing her arm around his waist.

"Mackenzie," a nurse called, "you and your husband can come back now," she said holding the door open for them and showed them into an exam room.

When they were alone again he pulled her into his arms.

"Are you okay, Will?"

"Yes," was all he said and he didn't move. She leaned back enough so that she could put her hands on his cheeks, checking to make sure he really was all right.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too, Kenz."

"I'm going to change and I'll be right back," she said easing her way out of his arms. She returned a few minutes later wearing a gown and sat on the exam table. "How is the show shaping up today?"

"Good, Jim was busy when I left."

Mac's doctor knocked on the door and came in. "You're looking great, Mac, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling great. PT is going well."

"That's what I hear. When you have pain is Tylenol enough?"

"It is. I think a lot of that is the PT as I'm in better shape now that I've been in a while."

"Good. I'm going to write a prescription for more PT, I think another six weeks, but this time I want them to work with you not as part of recovery but moving you onto maintenance and keeping you healthy. I think three times a week for an hour and if we need to do more or less we can talk about that, okay?"

"That sounds good. So, two questions, when can Will and I have sex again and when can I go back to work?"

Will tensed up at the questions, it had now been six weeks since the surgery and the doctor had told them the recovery time was six weeks.

"As long as you are comfortable you can resume your sexual relationship, but please be gentle for a while, okay? As for work, let's start out slowly, Mac. I know you want to get back to your normal routine, but I'd like to ease you back into it. Let's do partial weeks at first. I'll release you to limited work. First week back no more than two days and I mean normal days, sixteen hours total, max. Then the next week, three normal days and then the week after that you can go back to normal days on a regular schedule. No working more than eight hours a day for the next month, Mac."

"Agreed."

Will was grateful to the doctor for limiting Mac's hours and making sure she understood what she could do and when.

"Let me do a quick exam and you'll be good to go for about six weeks then I want to see you again and see how things are going."

"I'll make the appointment on our way out," Mac agreed.

Once the doctor was finished with the examination and was pleased with her progress he let Mac get dressed and said he'd see her in six weeks. Will thanked the doctor and shook his hand.

Mac came out of the bathroom back in her street clothes. "How about lunch before you go back to the studio?"

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. When he pulled back he said, "I can't wait to have you back in my ear, even if it is just for a couple of days for a while."

"I've missed being in the studio with you," she said, running her fingers through the hair at his temple, simply stroking him over and over.

"What would you like for lunch?" Will asked.

"I don't care as long as we can eat outside and enjoy this little bit of sunshine we've got today."

"You got it."

Mac made her next appointment and then they went to lunch. After lunch Lonny took Will to the studio and Mac got into a cab to take her home.

She'd been home a couple of hours when she received a call.

When Will got home Mac was sitting in the dark in the living room. "Leave the lights off, please," she said when she saw him reach for the lights.

He could feel something was wrong. He came to sit next to Mac and said, "what's wrong?"

"I had a call this afternoon from Marc."

Will couldn't place the name. "Marc?"

"Medicine Sans Frontiers, Marc."

"Okay," he said nodding. "Why did he call?"

"The little girl he'd sent the email about is getting worse. He's desperate to do something for her. She doesn't have long to live if something isn't done."

He wiped a tear off of her cheek and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"I have an idea, and I want you to hear me out."

"What's your idea?" he asked.

"I was able to find doctors to perform the surgery and waive their fees but I've not been able to get a hospital to donate their fees. The best I could do was at NYU, they would give the best insurance rates available but couldn't do it pro bono. I want to pay for the hospital fees. I want to bring her here and get her the surgery she needs. She's four years old and alone. My mother may not have wanted me, but at least she made sure I was taken care of and taken to doctors if need be."

"Mac…."

"I know, Billy, but it's something I can afford to do and I want to help this little girl and give her at least a fighting chance."

"What do we need to do?" he asked wearily.

"You're okay with this?"

"We have the money, we have the room and the resources, so yes, I'm okay with this."

She hugged him, burying her head in his neck. When she pulled back she said, "thank you."

He nodded.

"Marc will fly with the little girl. Consult with the doctors and help get her settled."

"Do we know her name? Will asked.

"Amira."

"Does Amira speak any English?"

"Some and some broken Arabic and, of course, Pashto."

"Well, at least _you'll_ be able to speak with her," Will chuckled.

"I know…it's perfect, isn't it?" she asked excitedly.

"No Mackenzie, it's not perfect. You are talking about taking in a little girl who will need constant care and who will be terrified by her new surroundings. And you want to do this less than two months after having major surgery yourself," he reminded her.

"But I thought you said you were ok with this Billy?"

"I _am_ ok with this Mac, as long as you don't try to take on the world all by yourself. We'll get some help, a nanny while Amira is with us. And you will not run yourself ragged, do you hear me? The doctor said you couldn't even go back to full time work for a few weeks, but you want to throw yourself headlong into taking care of a very sick child. Promise me that you will try to think about your own well-being first?" he begged.

"I promise," she said solemnly, but they both knew that when Mackenzie got involved in a project, any project, she had tunnel-vision. She couldn't see anything beyond her desire to help.


	3. Chapter 3

Several days later Mackenzie was waiting with Meggie at the international arrivals terminal at JFK, fidgeting nervously and practically strangling the small doll she was holding for Amira.

"Do you think she'll like it?" she asked her aunt nervously.

"Of course she will dear. The poor child has spent her life in a dusty war-torn town, probably playing with sticks and rocks. She'll be thrilled with her new dolly," Meggie reassured. When she realized Will wouldn't be able to accompany her to the airport, Mackenzie had cajoled Meggie into coming along, hoping that some company might distract her and calm her nerves.

It had all seemed rather distant and abstract when she discussed this with Will the week before, but suddenly last night, she realized there would soon be a little girl living with them and depending on them. What the hell had she been thinking, she wondered to herself? She and Will had no experience with children! But suddenly there she was, and Mackenzie felt her heart leap into her throat.

"Marhaba Amira," Mackenzie said in greeting to the small child. Thank God she still remembered some Arabic.

"Marhaba," the little girl whispered back. Good Lord, she didn't look like she could be more than two or three years old!

"Hi Mac," Marc greeted, and started to lean forward to kiss her on the cheek, but with his arms full of young Amira, that was easier said than done.

"Hi Marc, I see you've got an admirer there," Mackenzie greeted and nodded her head toward the girl who wouldn't unwind her arms from around his neck.

"She's a little shy when she first meets someone new, but don't worry, she makes fast friends with anyone," Marc assured her.

They all loaded into the waiting limousine and headed for the apartment. It took more than an hour for Amira to cautiously separate herself from Marc, but once she did she made a beeline for Mackenzie.

"Hellwa," she said softly, fingering the jeweled clip that was holding Mackenzie's hair back. Mac pulled it from her hair and handed it to the girl.

"Yes, it is pretty isn't it Amira?" Mackenzie asked, agreeing with what the young girl had said. The girl nodded, so Mackenzie reached up and secured it in the little girl's thin hair and smiled.

"She doesn't look like she's four Marc," Mackenzie said softly.

"She's been sick and malnourished her whole life Mac. It's going to take some time to get her back on track. Are you sure you and Will are ready for all this?" Marc Devane had watched this child be shuffled back and forth enough. He knew Mackenzie had only agreed to watching over Amira through her surgery and recovery, but he sincerely hoped the couple would fall so in love with her that they wouldn't let her go.

"We are," Mackenzie laughed as Amira patted her cheeks and touched her hair and refused to be set down for even a moment. It seemed they were already building quite a bond.

By the time Will got home, Mackenzie and Amira had settled into bed and were watching Beauty and the Beast and cuddling together like they were long-lost mother and daughter. The little girl clutched at Mackenzie as he entered the room. He stopped, hating to think he had scared her.

"Hi," he said softly, not wanting to startle her.

"Come on in Will, she's shy at first, but she gets over it very quickly," Mackenzie assured, holding out her hand toward him. He came over to her side and sat cautiously on the bed.

"Amira, ismuhu Will," Mackenzie said, introducing him to their little guest.

"Tasharrafnaa," she told him and Will looked to his wife for an explanation.

"She said pleased to meet you," Mackenzie explained.

"Is she going to understand _anything_ I say Mac?"

"Sure, a few words here and there for now, but you'll be amazed at how quickly she catches on to English. She already knows some words, so be careful what you say," Mackenzie warned him.

Despite the assurances that Amira would warm up to him, she didn't seem too thrilled about sharing Mackenzie with him that first night. When he came back into the room a short while later, wearing pajamas and carrying a left over carton of Chinese, the girl still looked at him warily.

"Other than Marc, she's mostly been around women Will. It might take a little longer for you to worm your way into her heart," Mac assured him. Later that night as he trudged out to the guest bedroom, aghast that a four-year-old was now sharing a bed with his wife instead of him, Will wondered if perhaps his fears about having children were valid.

He didn't sleep well without Mackenzie anymore, so he was up at the crack of dawn the next morning, softly strumming on his guitar in the kitchen. That's when a flurry of dark hair, running past the refrigerator, caught his eye.

"Hi," he said quietly to the child who was watching him with wide eyes.

"Hi," she mimicked back.

"Mackenzie?" he asked, knowing Amira must know the name already. She did, and she pointed toward the bedroom where Mac must still be sleeping.

"Hungry?" Will asked as he mimed the action of bringing food toward his mouth. Amira nodded. Unsure what she would like and what wouldn't upset her stomach, Will decided to try some lightly buttered toast. He cut it up into small strips for the girl and watched as she devoured it. He looked into the refrigerator, hoping like hell that someone had had the presence of mind to buy some kid-friendly food.

Thank God, he thought, when he spotted some very small juice boxes. He grabbed one, stuck a straw into the thing, and handed it to Amira. She looked at it questioningly.

"Drink," he ordered, pointing at the straw. She still just stared at it. So he got up and grabbed another juice box and showed her how it was done. She laughed and raised the drink to her mouth with a smile.

"Marc?" she asked next. Oh shit, where the hell was Mac when he needed her?

"No Marc today Amira," he said, and she looked around them for a moment. Then, very carefully, she climbed off the chair Will had placed her on for her toast and toddled off to find Mackenzie.

"Marc?" she asked again, once she reached Mackenzie's side and could poke her awake.

"Huh?" Mackenzie asked blearily. "Will?"

"I think you need to explain this one Mac. We've already had some breakfast and discovered the wonders of the juice box. You get to explain the fact that the only person she knows in America isn't here this morning."

"Shit," Mackenzie said quietly, and then scolded herself when Amira tried to repeat the word.

"Sheet! Sheet!" Amira shouted and clapped her hands.

"Way to go Kenz. You just taught her her first bit of English profanity," Will chuckled. "Come on Amira, you need to learn fast that Mackenzie is dangerous before she's had her first cup of coffee. We'll go get her some and then we can all work on our vocabulary," Will said, looking at his wife meaningfully.

Will held out his arms and waited to see if Amira would come toward him. Amazingly, she did.

"So, you two are getting along better this morning," Mackenzie observed.

"My cooking skills always did get the girls to come around," he said, swinging Amira up into his arms and leaving the room.

"Billy, you are a god among men," Mac whispered when he returned with a large cup of coffee for her. He set Amira down on the bed next to her.

"Bewee," Amira mimicked, testing the word on her tongue.

"Very good, Amira. Billy," Mac said, pointing toward Will.

"Bewee!" she said again, patting his knee. He smiled at her in response.

"When does she see the cardiologist at NYU?" Will asked, sipping his own coffee.

"Tomorrow, at 9am. Did you want to come with us?"

"I can try, I may have to leave early to get to the office. What are you two doing today?"

"Well, we're going to try to find out what this little one likes to eat so she can gain some weight, aren't we Amira?" Mackenzie asked the toddler, who was now engrossed in the cartoons Will had flipped on for her.

"Sponge Bob is a winner in any language apparently," Will chuckled, as he set off for the shower.

Throughout the day, Amira amazed Mackenzie with her rapid transition from Arabic to Pashto to English. Taking care of this child was like sitting in on a U.N. diplomatic meeting! For her own sanity's sake, she was trying to tease more English from the girl.

"Thirsty Amira?" she asked, when she heard the girl murmuring something that sounded like a cross between both the Pashto and Arabic versions of the word. Mackenzie showed her a glass of water to make the concept a bit clearer. Amira nodded vigorously.

It was amazing watching her try to understand and assimilate her new surroundings. She was so small for her age, but her intelligence was obvious. She wanted to learn about everything she saw. She was constantly pointing at things and then turning to Mackenzie for an explanation of what they were or how to say the word for them in English. If she had ever thought parenthood would be dull, Mackenzie was realizing just how wrong she was.

By two o'clock that afternoon, Amira had already asked for "Bewee" several times, so Mackenzie gave in and bundled her up for a visit to the studio. The young girl was astounded at all the buildings and cars that passed by the window of their taxi, and stared in wonder, her face pressed up against the glass.

"Bewee!" she shouted, as soon as they were off the elevator and Will came into sight. He lit up at the sight of her, but then frowned. What the hell was Mackenzie doing carrying her around?

"Hi Peanut," Will said, quickly taking Amira from Mac's arms and ushering the two of them toward his office.

"What the hell was that Mackenzie?" he asked harshly once the door was shut. Amira looked between the two of them.

"What the hell was what Will? And please don't yell in front of her," Mackenzie warned.

"You aren't supposed to be carrying more than twenty pounds yet and you're hauling a four-year-old around?"

"First of all, the physical therapist had me lifting twenty-five pounds just the other day. And secondly, Amira is hardly your typical four-year-old! She's malnourished and light as a feather. And what am I supposed to do? Say no to her when she reaches for me?" Mac asked, trying to keep her voice even and calm.

Will set Amira down on the sofa in the corner of the room and handed her a pencil and some paper.

"We talked about this before she came here Mac. Your health is still my first priority," he whispered.

"I know that Will. I fully intend to start interviewing nannies in the next few days, but in the meantime I will not refuse her pleas for affection. I know all too well what that does to a child, and I won't do it, so don't ask me to!" she said, staring him right in the eyes and willing him to understand what she was saying. _She_ had been an emotionally neglected child, and she would be damned if she would do the same to Amira.

"I want someone in that house with you every day to help you with her," he said, leaning his forehead against hers and taking a deep breath to calm his temper _and_ his fears.

"I promise. Now go play with her, she's been asking for you for hours," Mackenzie said, pushing him toward Amira and watching with love as the two of them drew stick figures on paper.

"So, what's this I hear about you two becoming parents suddenly? I thought we had this discussion already Kenz, you aren't supposed to be keeping secrets from your only female friend anymore," Sloan announced as she entered Will's office.

"I haven't been keeping secrets Sloan. This all happened rather suddenly. A friend of mine from Doctors Without Borders needed some help with a sick child. Right now, I'm at home and I'm available to help. Sloan, meet Amira," Mackenzie said, by way of introduction.

"She's beautiful Kenz. How old is she?" Sloan asked, amused at how well Will was interacting with the small child.

"Amira is four. Aren't you Amira?" Mackenzie asked, holding up four fingers. Amira nodded.

"I guess dinner is off tonight?" Sloan asked, and then chuckled at Mackenzie's bewildered expression. "Remember, you and Will, me and Peter? Dinner at Nobu?"

"Oh shit! I totally forgot Sloan. I'm so sorry!" Mackenzie cursed, and then ducked her head when, once again, Amira started to repeat the word.

"Mac!" Will warned, trying to quiet Amira's shouts of "sheet."

"Sorry. As you can see, we're a little overwhelmed right now. Another night?" Mackenzie asked Sloan.

"Yeah, you two have your hands full. Who the hell decided that you guys should become instant parents?" Sloan asked, and then realized there was really no need to pose that question. Of course, this _must_ have been Mackenzie's idea.

"Guilty as charged," Mackenzie admitted. "I couldn't _not_ help her Sloan."

"I'm sure. So what exactly is the plan for young Amira?"

"She's going to be seeing a cardiologist at NYU tomorrow and will be scheduled for heart surgery sometime soon. As soon as she's recovered, we'll have to work on finding a family that can take care of a child with special needs," Mackenzie said, but her eyes hardly ever strayed from Will and Amira, their heads leaning toward each other as they concentrated on drawing an entire village of stick figures and their attendant dwellings.

"Sure Kenz, sure," Sloan whispered under her breath, already knowing full well, that Mackenzie was never going to let this little one go.

Mac was sitting on Will's couch when she noticed the time and said to Amira, "we need to go and let Billy write his script."

"Cript," Amira tried.

"With an s, script," Will explained patiently. Amira smiled at him and climbed onto his lap and rested against his chest. Will put his arms around her and watched her fall asleep. "She can stay on the couch and nap if you want to check in with Jim for a few minutes.

"You don't mind?" Mac asked.

"No, we'll be fine, go ahead."

Mac kissed his head and walked out to find Jim.

Will sat there holding Amira, running his hand along the back of her head. Mac had said it might take some time for him to worm his way into her heart but it took no time at all for Amira to worm her way into his. She was so sweet, and even though her short life had been full of war and sickness, she was honestly happy. He knew he should put her down on the couch and start on his script, but he didn't want to.

About half an hour later Mac was standing in his doorway watching him. He was holding Amira on his lap while writing on a note pad. "You can come in," he said.

"We should get out of here and let you work," she said.

"I'm working," he said holding up the note pad.

"Let me have her and we'll leave you to it. We are going to FAO Schwarz."

"Does she know that?"

"No, why?" Mac asked.

"I'd like to be with you when she goes to the best toy store in the world."

Mac thought she couldn't love him anymore, and suddenly, she did. She smiled at him and said, "we'll go on Saturday, the three of us and Lonny."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Will stood up with Amira and handed her to Mac. "She really does weigh very little. We need to get some good food in her to help build up her strength for surgery."

"We'll go to the grocery store and pick out a few things to try. Do we need anything from Whole Foods?"

"No, I don't think so," he said. He leaned down to kiss Mac and then Amira. Mac left and he went back to his desk, missing them both and hoping that Mac wouldn't get in too much trouble at the grocery store.

Amira woke up when they got in the cab. Mac explained where they wanted to go to the driver and held the girl while she watched the scenery of New York through the car window. Mac got out of the cab still holding Amira and stood her on the sidewalk and took her hand. "This is a grocery store," Mac explained. The automatic doors open as they approached and Amira jumped back. Mac knelt down and said, "it's okay," but Amira was having none of that and held her arms up to Mac. Mac stood and picked her up and together they walked through the door to Whole Foods. Once inside Mac placed her in a shopping cart and together they explored the store. It was an adventure for them both since Mac rarely made it to the grocery store, especially without Will.

Their first stop was the produce section. Mac showed her various fruits and vegetables and put several oranges in a bag to take home. This went on for a couple of hours with Mac ending up with a cart full of kid friendly items. Juice boxes, yogurts, applesauce and a range of kid friendly snacks such as cheese crackers and rice cakes.

After checking out she arranged to have the groceries delivered, all except an orange which she took with them. When they arrived home Mac brought Amira into the kitchen and sat her on a stool. Mac cut the orange into quarters and placed all the pieces on a plate that she placed in front of Amira. Mac nodded her head, encouraging her to try one. "Orange," Mac said and picked up a piece and bit into the fruit. She was hoping that Amira would copy her and she did. Amira smiled and finished up her piece. Mac pushed the plate to her and said, "you may have more."

"More," Amira said smiling and picked up another piece of orange.

They finished up with the orange and went into the guest room where the toys that she and Will had purchased were stored. Mac sat on the floor with the girl and together they played with blocks.

Their afternoon passed with Mac giving Amira a bubble bath and washing her hair. For dinner Mac fixed them each a grilled cheese sandwich and they had milk to drink with their food.

After Amira had been changed into her pajamas Mac was sitting with her in the living room, reading a book. It was nearing eight o'clock and she turned on the tv. Amira was immediately engrossed in the television and had completely forgotten about the book they had been reading. When Will appeared on the screen Amira shouted, "Bewee," and pointed at the screen.

Mac smiled and said, "Yes, that's Billy. " Amira watched the entire show, fascinated by seeing Will on television. By 9:30 Will was walking off the elevator and Amira was running to see him.

"Bewee, Bewee," she said jumping up and down.

"Hey Peanut. What are you so excited about?" he asked, picking her up. She kept pointing to the tv.

"I was watching the show and she recognized you," Mac explained. "She watched the entire show."

"Thanks," he said hugging Amira. He walked over to Mac and leaned down to kiss her. "How'd grocery shopping go?"

"Surprisingly well. Oranges were a hit and we had grilled cheese and milk for dinner."

"How long were you in the store?"

"A couple of hours."

"Hours," he exclaimed, "Mac."

"We were exploring," she defended.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Is she ready for bed?"

"She's ready, but I don't know if she's going to sleep any time soon. She got very excited when she saw you on tv."

"Maybe she'd like some warm milk," he said tickling Amira.

The toddler laughed and rested her head against his shoulder. "She may not even need warm milk," he said to Mac.

"Let's try to put her down and see if she'll fall asleep," Mac said getting off the couch and leading them to Amira's room.

Will sat down with her on the bed and placed her under the covers. He didn't move until her eyes were closed and only then did he gently get off the bed. He grabbed Mac's hand and pulled her out of the room.

"She'll be fine, don't worry."

"What if she needs something, Will?"

"Would it make you feel better to sleep in here with her, or have her join us in our bed?" She knew he was trying.

"You wouldn't mind if she slept with us? I missed waking up with you this morning."

"Until she's comfortable and knows where to find us in the middle of the night if she needs something, she can sleep with us."

"Thank you," she said slipping into his arms, kissing him.

After he had some dinner and they talked about tomorrow's appointment at NYU he sent Mac on to change and he went to get Amira. Mac was already in bed when Will walked in and placed the little girl next to Mac. "I'll be right back." When Will returned Mac had fallen asleep with Amira. Will grabbed his phone and took their picture.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Will woke with Amira plastered to his side, resting on his shoulder. When he looked over Mac was already out of bed and he heard the shower running. Mac came out a few minutes later in her robe, drying her hair. She sat next to him and leaned down to kiss him. Will returned her kiss, his tongue playing at the corner of her mouth, trying to gain entrance.

She pulled back and said, "we have to leave in just over an hour. I'll sit with her, go get a shower."

He kissed her again and walked into the bathroom. When he was done, Mac and Amira were in the kitchen having some breakfast. They were having cereal and Amira was listening to the Rice Krispies snap, crackle and pop. Will picked up her spoon with a little cereal and held it up for her. She smiled when it was still making noise on the spoon. Finally she opened her mouth and he fed her the cereal.

"Thank you," Mac said. "I had no idea Rice Krispies were so entertaining to a four year old."

"Everything is new to her, it's fun to watch." Will didn't see her smile at him as he turned to get something for breakfast from the refrigerator. He opened a yogurt and sat next to Amira at the island. She was looking at what he was eating. "Yogurt," he said slowly and held the spoon out to her.

She took a little of the yogurt off his spoon and smiled, taking the rest of it from his spoon.

"Want to trade breakfast?" he asked Amira handing her the yogurt and the spoon. He took her cereal and ate that while she finished up the yogurt.

"I'm going to brush her teeth and get her ready to go. Lonny is downstairs when we're ready to go."

Lonny drove them to NYU and valet parked the SUV to escort Will, Mac and Amira inside. They found the doctor's office and checked in. They were told it would be just a few minutes until the doctor could see Amira.

It truly was just a few minutes until they were called back to the doctor's private office. When they walked in Marc was sitting there discussing Amira's case with the surgeon. "Marc!" Amira exclaimed and ran over to him. He easily picked her up and hugged her.

"How's everything going?" Marc asked Will and Mac.

"Good, we're learning to communicate," Mac said. When Will sat down Amira came over to him and climbed onto his lap.

"We were just discussing the surgery," Marc explained.

The surgeon explained that he wanted to do a few tests today and once he got those results, and once Amira gained a little weight, he'd schedule surgery.

Will stayed for the entire appointment and either had Amira on his lap or had her hand in his the entire time.

"He seems very attached to her," Marc said after Will left to go back to the office.

"He is. I think the feeling is mutual," Mackenzie remarked, watching as Amira looked around for Will.

"You can't let it go too far Mac," the young doctor reminded his friend. She looked shocked and a little disheartened.

"How can you ask us _not_ to get attached to her? She's living with us. I take care of her!" Mackenzie pleaded.

"I know you do Mackenzie, and you're doing a beautiful job of that, but you can't let her believe this is going to continue," Marc reminded her, all the while hoping that maybe his friend was thinking of a more permanent situation.

"She's going to be here for months Marc! Going through procedures and surgeries and what? You want me to refuse her when she asks to be picked up…when she comes to me for a hug?"

"No, I want you to not let her believe that your home, your arms, are going to be there forever," he said firmly.

"I know," she whispered sadly. And she did.

As the days and the weeks passed and Amira underwent medical tests and eagerly dug into any and all food presented in front of her, Mackenzie knew the clock was ticking. Once she was more stable medically and once she had gained enough weight, Amira's surgery was going to be scheduled.

"Aren't you coming in today?" Will asked, watching as Mackenzie sat at the kitchen table with Amira, helping her draw a house while she ate her oatmeal and bananas. They had had a nanny for two weeks now, and Mackenzie had been easing back into part time hours at the office. But this morning, Will saw no sign of Christine the nanny.

"I thought I'd stay here today. The show's all but locked in. Jim can fill in for me," Mac said quietly…morosely.

"What's wrong Mac?" he asked. She'd been moping for the last few days and he was worried.

"I just want to spend the day with Amira, that's all. I thought you'd be happy. I'm slowing down at work."

"I'm happy you're finally taking the doctor's advice, but I'm wondering what's brought this about?"

"I love her," she said softly, so softly he almost couldn't hear it.

"Kenz," he whispered. "She has to go home…eventually."

"She doesn't _have_ a home Will. _This_ is her home now."

All along, if he was honest with himself, he knew it would come to this. Despite their rocky earlier years together, if there was one thing he knew about Mackenzie McHale-McAvoy, it was that when she loved…she loved fiercely. Amira, of course, would be no exception.

"We can't talk about this now," he said, nodding toward the little girl. "We'll talk when I get home from work."

He abruptly left and headed downstairs, but when he reached Lonny he made a quick decision.

"Habib's office," he told the man, and then dropped his head into his hands and hoped like hell the psychiatrist had some words of wisdom for him.

"Let me guess, Mackenzie?" Jacob asked, when Will nearly pounded down the door to his inner office.

"Of course. What else could it be?" Will asked, looking past Jacob Habib's shoulder to see an older woman biting her nails.

"I'll pay you five hundred dollars if you let me have the rest of your session," he shouted to her over Jack's head.

"Unbelievable," Lonny muttered in the background, but the woman shouted, "sold!"

"Are you unfamiliar with the concept of an appointment Will?" Habib asked, as Will took a seat in front of him.

"Of course not. I have one tomorrow morning, but this is an emergency," he replied.

"I've never known one man to have so many psychiatric emergencies in my life," Jacob muttered.

"Hey! You try being married to Mackenzie and see how well your psyche survives!" Will sputtered.

"Actually, I'm more amazed she survives _you_ on a daily basis."

"As I was saying," Will nearly shouted. "Mackenzie wants a child."

"I already knew that Will. We had that discussion weeks ago. You must still be familiar with the concept of 'it takes two to tango'. There really is a simple way of keeping Mackenzie from having a child."

"Ok, first of all, no way in hell am I _not_ having sex with my wife. Have you seen her? I'll need to be at death's door before I find Mackenzie undesirable. And second, we aren't talking about that. I wasn't referring to a baby. She wants the child that is living with us right now. She doesn't want her to go home," Will explained.

"Last time I heard, you were fostering a sick Afghani girl. Doesn't she have a family that will be expecting her?" Habib asked.

"That's just it…she doesn't. And Mackenzie is quite convinced that _we_ should be her family…permanently."

"And you disagree?"

"I think this was never in the plans," Will explained.

"You knew the child did not have a family?"

"I did."

"Well, this can't be that big a surprise then Will."

"How the hell was I supposed to know we were going to fall in love with her?" Will shouted, getting up to pace the room.

"We?" Habib asked.

"What?"

"You said 'we' Will. Are you quite attached to the girl as well?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. She's sweet, she's cute and she happens to think I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. What's not to love?" Will asked, rubbing his hands over his face and staring out the window.

"Is she a solution to a problem?" Habib asked.

"What? What the hell are you talking about?!" Will shouted.

"Well, you didn't want Mackenzie to risk a pregnancy. Is part of you hoping that if you keep this young girl, this….?"

"Amira," Will replied, filling in the blank for the doctor.

"Amira. If you and Mackenzie keep Amira, are you hoping that Mackenzie will give up on the idea of a pregnancy?"

"God no! That never even crossed my mind! What kind of monster do you think I am? Trading one child for another! Amira has nothing to do with any biological children Mackenzie and I may have! Amira is special and unique. She's strong and smart and she lights up when Mackenzie enters the room. I think maybe Amira loves Mac almost as much as I do…in her own way. She's amazing," Will whispered this last part quietly.

"Sounds to me like you've already made up your mind Will," Habib said, breaking the older man's reverie.

"What?"

"This," Jack said, holding up a picture frame. "This is my son, Isaac. He's five. He was born while I was still doing my residency and I thought it was the worst possible time for a kid. I thought it would complicate everything, but it made everything so much better. You talk about Amira like I talk about Isaac."

"Oh. I do, don't I?" Will asked, suddenly realizing how much a part of their lives she had become in the last few weeks.

"You do, Will. So what are you going to do about it?" Habib never got his question answered, as his patient grabbed his coat and ran from the room.

When the elevator door opened up Will saw that Mac was in the living room picking up books and toys. When she heard the elevator she turned to see Will standing there. "What are you doing home?"

"Where's Amira?"

"Taking a nap, what are you doing home?"

He walked over to her and took her hands, pulling her down onto the couch. "Will, what's going on?"

He ducked his head a little and when he looked back up at Mac he was smiling, "how do we adopt her?"

"Billy…."

"Kenz she's here for a while yet but neither of us wants to ever let her go, so let's make it official and adopt her."

Mac had a huge smile on her face and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I think that's an excellent idea. I have no idea the process but I'll find out. Amira and I are meeting Marc for lunch, I'll talk to him then."

"Good. Listen, as much as I want to stay here all day, I've got to get to the office."

Mac walked Will to the elevator and kissed him. "Thank you," she said, touching his cheek.

"I can't live without her either, Kenz. I'll see you later," he said and kissed her one more time before getting on the elevator.

Amira and Mac arrived at the restaurant first and were already seated when Marc arrived. Mac stood when she saw Marc and pointed him out to Amira, who was jumping up and down when he picked her up and hugged her. He kissed Mac on the cheek and they all sat down to have a nice lunch.

"I spoke with the surgeon this morning, he's scheduled her first surgery for next week," Marc explained. Mac put her arm around Amira and pulled her to her side. Amira smiled up at Mac and Mac kissed her head, then she went back to coloring on the sheet the waiter had brought for her.

"Is she ready?"

"This first procedure is very minor, but still must be done before the next surgery can happen. It will be an outpatient procedure, minimally invasive."

"Okay, what do we need to do?" Mac asked.

"We'll get more detailed instructions from the surgeon at her appointment on Wednesday."

"Will and I want to adopt her," she said quietly.

Marc had hoped this was going to be a possibility but it had happened much faster than he'd anticipated. "Mac…"

"There's no family, right?"

"No there's not."

"She needs medical care that we can provide and she needs a home where she's loved and taken care of not left to fend for herself. She's four."

Amira said, "four," and held up four fingers.

"Very good, sweetie, you're right," Mac said.

"Mac, are you and Will positive about this, no second thoughts or anything?"

"None. How do we make this happen?"

"I'll talk to some people still in country and ask. I don't know if this is even possible, Mac."

"We'll figure out a way. I'm not sending her back to live on the streets of Kabul on her own."

After lunch Mac and Amira met Meggie at a playground near the brownstone. Amira was climbing on the tower and sliding down the slide while Mac and Meggie watched her.

Meggie was also busy watching Mac. She could see how in love with this little girl she was and she'd only been with them for a few weeks. Meggie took Mac's hand and said, "is Amira going to be my first grandchild?"

Mac smiled and looked at Meggie. She never could keep anything from her. "I hope so, Meg."

"What's stopping you?"

"We've got to figure out how we can adopt her. Marc is going to check with some people in Afghanistan."

"Wouldn't it be helpful to have a diplomat in the family?" Meggie asked, chuckling a bit.

"Meg, that was the first thing I thought of, but I don't want to put him in that position. It would be questionable ethically."

"She's going to be his granddaughter, too, Kenzie."

"It may come to that, Meg, but I don't want to start there, do you understand?"

"I do. Just keep it in mind. You know he'd talk to whomever and make whatever calls were necessary," Meggie said.

Amira chose that moment to come running up to Mac and handed her a tiny flower, making Mac smile. She picked up the little girl and hugged her and said, "thank you, sweetie."

Amira ran back to the slide and was playing. Mac couldn't take her eyes off of her. She'd fallen so in love with this little girl and so had Will.

On Wednesday morning Will arranged to go with Mac and Amira to the surgeon's office so that they could find out what exactly they needed to do for next week's surgery. Amira was holding onto Will's hand, walking beside him. When they went to check in he saw Amira try to see what was going on and picked her up. "That better?" he asked her.

"Better," she replied. Her English was improving. Mac had started watching Sesame Street with her every day. So far Big Bird was her favorite character.

When they were called back the nurse stopped at the scales and wanted to weigh Amira. Will knelt down so he was eye level with the little girl. "The nurse needs to weigh you," he explained and helped her onto the scale. Amira didn't waste any time getting off once the nurse was finished, going back to holding Will's hand.

"We are going to need to take some blood today," the nurse explained. Will picked Amira up and together they walked to the area where the nurse could draw the blood. Mac heard Amira scream and then she quieted down. When Will and Amira rejoined Mac she could see the tears on Amira's cheeks. Mac wiped her cheeks and pulled her into her arms and carried her back to the doctor's office.

Amira stayed on Mac's lap the entire time they were in with the doctor. He explained the procedure to Mac and Will and answered all of their questions. He gave them a checklist to take home for the day and night before surgery. It explained what she could eat or drink and what time the cutoff for food and drink was prior to surgery. He asked that they have her at the outpatient area by 7am on the day of the surgery. Surgery would take about an hour and they could both be in the holding area before surgery and in the recovery room with Amira afterwards.

Mac began talking to Amira about surgery a couple of days before the procedure. She wasn't sure how much she understood but Mac had gotten a few books talking about going to the hospital and she'd hoped that by reading the books Amira would understand that the hospital is where you went to get better.

The day of the surgery Mac and Will were both a nervous wreck. Amira couldn't eat or drink anything so she was not in a great mood. Will carried her to Lonny's SUV and helped her get buckled up. The drive to the outpatient surgery center was an easy one so early in the morning. They checked in and both Mac and Will came with her to get her changed and ready for surgery. They chatted with the nurses and techs that were going to be around Amira and explained that she didn't speak much English. When it was time for surgery, Will kissed Amira on her head and said, "I love you, peanut."

"Love, Bewee," he smiled at her and moved over so Mac could give her a kiss.

"I love you, baby. I'll see you in a few minutes, okay?" she said and kissed Amira.

A nurse escorted Mac and Will to the waiting room.

Will couldn't decide which was worse, waiting for Mackenzie's surgery to be finished or waiting for Amira. At least this time he was sitting holding Mac's hand and they could take comfort in each other. But something in the vicinity of his heart or maybe his stomach was twisting in a whole different way. For the first time since Mackenzie had walked into his life, he knew what it was to be attached to someone else as strongly as he was attached to his wife. It was different though, in a way he wasn't quite sure he could explain.

"This is the best cardiac care unit in Manhattan. She'll be fine. She couldn't be in better hands," Mackenzie said quietly. So quietly, that he wasn't sure whether she was trying to comfort him or herself.

"She will be," he confirmed and squeezed her hand a little bit tighter.

Just over an hour later Amira's surgeon appeared with a smile on his face. Both Will and Mackenzie took a deep breath for the first time that day.

"Everything went just fine. She'll be in recovery for a couple of hours so we can watch her vitals and monitor her as she comes out of anesthesia, but barring any complications you should be able to take her home this afternoon."

"And then?" Mackenzie asked nervously.

"And then, we wait," the doctor replied.

"That's it? That's what millions of dollars of technology and research get us? We wait?" Will muttered.

"Mr. McAvoy, we discussed this. A coronary fistula sometimes completely closes on its own and there is no need for surgery. Obviously this was not the case for Amira. But now we have inserted a small stent to correct the direction of blood flow within the chambers of the heart. This stent will work in the short term, giving Amira time to grow and become stronger. Later we will discuss the open heart surgery that will permanently correct the condition."

"This is good news Will. She'll be home soon," Mackenzie reassured him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest.

"Ok, good news. I'll try to keep that in mind," he said as he kissed the top of her head. "Can we see her now?"

"Sure, the nurse will take you back," the doctor responded, shaking both their hands and leaving them alone.

"She looks so tiny," Will said, once they were led back to the curtained recovery area where Amira was still asleep.

"She won't look so tiny for long."

"What do you mean?" Will asked.

"I've been doing lots of reading on her condition. The chief outward symptom of cardiac fistulas in children is a failure to thrive. Before you know it, she'll be gaining pounds and inches Will," Mackenzie replied, pushing the hair back out of Amira's eyes.

"Good, but I'll miss my peanut," he said, rubbing her tiny hand in his much larger one.

"She'll always be on the small side Will. Most children in this country would have had this surgery by now. Unfortunately Amira will always suffer a few deficits because of the delay in care," Mackenzie said sadly.

"No she won't. She speaks three languages already for God's sake! She's brilliant!" he said defensively. Mackenzie chuckled. He was already a fiercely protective father.

"We'll make sure she has everything she needs to catch up," she told him, taking his other hand and marveling at the family they had become.


	5. Chapter 5

A short two days later, Amira was up and running around with a new burst of energy. Mackenzie sat back and watched with both exhaustion and pride.

"So…motherhood…is it everything you thought?" Sloan asked, coming up behind Mackenzie in Central Park, and scaring the shit out of her.

"Jesus Sloan! Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Mackenzie asked, clasping a hand over her fluttering heart, and turning back around to watch Amira scamper around the playground.

"I could ask you the same thing," Sloan replied, taking a seat next to her friend.

"She's only been out of the hospital for a couple of days. I didn't want to leave her with the nanny!" Mackenzie said ferociously.

"Hey, I'm not judging…I'm just observing," Sloan reassured her friend, holding her hands up in surrender.

"What is everyone saying?"

"We're all just a little surprised that a six-week medical leave has now turned into a three month maternity leave," Sloan answered.

"How is Will?" Mackenzie asked her friend, truly curious as to how her sudden shift from over-worked, over-stressed E.P., to stay at home mother was affecting him.

"I think it was hard for him at first. He was getting really excited about you coming back Kenz…and then you didn't. But he adores her too," Sloan said, nodding at Amira. "He understands."

"No he doesn't. _I_ don't even understand it Sloan. Will and I talked about having children, but it was still this abstract concept to me, something that was at least nine months off in the future. I was absolutely certain I would want to go back to work the minute I gave birth."

"And then Amira showed up?" Sloan asked.

"Exactly. And now my world has been turned upside down by a thirty-five pound bundle of energy. Who knew?" Mackenzie said, laughing.

"I think Will knew. That's why he's taking it all in stride Kenz."

Mackenzie looked at her questioningly.

"He knows you better than anyone, and he knows you throw yourself whole-heartedly into everything you do. He's fine with it, you know," Sloan reassured her. Mackenzie's smiled finally widened.

"You think so?" she asked.

"I _know_ so Kenz. He runs around the office showing pictures of you and Amira on his iPhone to anyone who stands still long enough!"

Later that night, Will arrived home to find Mackenzie and Amira snuggled up in bed together. The toddler was asleep, but Mac was wide awake.

"Hey, did you have a good day?" he asked, never even mentioning the fact that she hadn't shown up at the office. He went into the bathroom to change.

"I did. We went to the park. She's got so much more energy now. It's exhausting," Mackenzie muttered, looking down at the child and pushing her hair out of her eyes.

Will chuckled as he re-entered the bedroom.

"You're not upset?" Mackenzie asked him, uncertainly.

"About what?"

"I didn't come in to work today."

"She just had surgery. It's really not all that unexpected that you might want to stay home with her for a few days Mac."

"How is Jim?" she asked.

"Fine."

"And you two are getting along well?"

"We're doing just fine Mackenzie. What's this really all about?" he asked, sitting down on a chair across from the bed and staring at her.

"I'd like to talk to Charlie about a few things."

"What _kind_ of things Mac?" he asked, warily.

"Jim deserves more money and a promotion. He's essentially been doing my job now for months, with very little input from me anymore," she said, looking at him to see what his reaction would be. He tensed.

"No, Mac. He's _not_ becoming my E.P." Will said angrily, but quietly, not wanting to wake Amira.

"He already has been your E.P. You just still call him your senior producer" Mackenzie informed him.

"What are we really talking about here Mac?

"Nothing's changed Will. I still want to have a baby, but now we have Amira here as well. I don't want our children raised by the staff," she said firmly.

Damn it! He knew it would come to this…he just wasn't prepared for it yet.

"You want to quit?" he asked, more than a little shocked that she wanted to give up her hard-earned career altogether.

"No, not totally, but it's not fair to keep asking Jim to be me and yet get paid half of what I do!"

He nodded his head slowly, realizing the truth in what she was saying. "Then what _do_ you want Mac?"

"Make Jim and I co-executive producers. I won't completely leave NewsNight, but this will prepare him for the day when he's offered his own show to produce and it will buy me some time to be home more with our children while they're young," she said firmly.

Good God, she was already speaking in the plural! And they hadn't even begun the adoption proceedings for Amira or completely given up birth control! He looked toward the drawer that contained the condoms they'd been using the last several weeks, since Mackenzie had surprised him with that little announcement about her pills.

She got up, carefully so as not to disturb Amira's sleep, and pointedly looked at him as she pulled the condoms out of the drawer and tossed them in the garbage can.

"I'm not getting any younger Billy," she said, crossing her arms and daring him to disagree.

"Ok," he said softly.

"Ok?" she asked, her face lighting up at his acquiescence.

"I know you Mackenzie… you're like a dog with a bone when you want something. I'm going to lose this argument, aren't I?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yes, you are."

"Well then, there you go. Can I please go have a scotch and try to slow my rapidly beating heart now? I'd like to be around long enough to see this kid we're going to have," he said smirking at her.

"Please do," she replied. "And Will?"

"Yes?" he asked, turning around in the doorway to look back at her.

"It's going to be amazing you know?"

"What is?" he asked, confused.

"Our baby."

A few days later, Will was sitting with Michael on the rooftop deck of the brownstone. They each had a healthy glass of scotch and a cigar they were smoking. Mac and Amira were downstairs with Meggie.

"You're a million miles away tonight, my boy, what's on your mind?" Michael asked.

"I was thinking about Amira and how much our world has changed since she joined us."

"Little girls, William, once they've got your heart you'll never get it back. Trust me, I speak from experience."

"She's got mine, that's for sure. I had no idea it was happening, either. One day we were trying to help Marc and find a place for one of his patients and when she got here she wormed her way right into my heart. She's so smart and learning English so quickly."

Meggie had told Michael about her talk with Mac about Amira but asked him not to say anything until Mac and Will brought it up.

"We want to adopt her, Michael."

"I think that's wonderful. What's the problem?"

"Mac has been talking to lawyers both here and in Kabul. We may run into problems because we are not Muslim."

"Do we know for sure that Amira is Afghani, or Islamic?"

"All I know is that she was living in a tent village in Kabul, she has no family. Marc may know more of her background."

"Would you be comfortable if I quietly asked some questions of the Afghani Ambassador?"

"Michael, as much as I appreciate that, I won't put you in that position. It's ethically questionable."

"This is my grandchild we are talking about, William. You are not putting me in any sort of position, ethically or not. All I want to do is to ask some questions."

"Mac is going to kill me, you know that, right? She didn't want you involved."

"Too late. And if you're wondering, the first time she smiled at me it was too late, I'd already fallen in love with her, too. Remember, I have experience with falling in love with little girls and I know how you want to hold and protect them and keep them safe."

"I'm a dead man," Will said finishing off his scotch.

Will and Michael made their way downstairs and found Amira asleep, her head on Mac's lap. Mac was chatting with Meggie while running her hand over the girl's hair.

"We need to get this little one home and into bed," Mac said to Will when he appeared in the living room.

"Thank you for dinner," Will said to Michael and Meggie.

"You're welcome, my boy, any time," Michael said.

Will scooped Amira up and placed her against his shoulder, holding her tight against him. Mac got up and hugged Meggie and Michael and told them good night. They both kissed Amira and walked them out to Lonny's SUV. Will got Amira into her booster seat and then hugged Meggie and Michael.

On the way home Mac noticed Will was a million miles away. She ran her fingers through his hair and said, "are you all right?"

He smiled and turned toward her and took her hand, "I am. Just thinking."

Once they got Amira inside and into bed they were in their bedroom, changing for bed.

"I did something tonight you aren't going to like very much," Will said.

"Tell me," she said sitting on the bed watching him. She could tell he was nervous.

"I told Michael we were going to adopt Amira and that there may be roadblocks."

"Why do you think that would upset me?" Mac asked.

"I know you didn't want to put him in an awkward position."

She smiled at him. "I know my father well enough to know even if I told him I didn't want him to do anything, he'd do it anyway, trying to help me. He won't put himself in any situation that would prove questionable. My guess is he is going to start asking questions of the Afghani Ambassador. Innocuous sounding questions, as if a question in passing and eventually he will pique the interest of the Ambassador and he will seek my father out."

"You're really not upset?" he asked, confused. Every time he thought he had her figured out she'd go and do something to throw him off track and he be back at the beginning. He really did love her.

"No, I'm not. Plus I talked to Meggie. Did you have a good chat with Michael?"

"We did. We talked about how easily little girls stole our hearts."

All of a sudden they heard a scream coming from Amira's room and they both ran in there. The little girl was sitting up in bed tears falling down her cheeks, breathing heavily and whimpering.

Mac sat next to her and pulled her into her arms, kissing her head and trying to comfort her. "What's wrong, baby?"

Will was sitting next to Mac feeling helpless when Amira reached for him. He easily took her into his arms and held her tight. He began rocking her gently, trying to get her to calm down.

Mac was holding her hand and asked, "are you hurt?"

"Anaa khaa-ifa," Amira said.

"What'd she say?" Will asked.

"She said she's scared. Maybe a bad dream?"

"I've got you, Peanut," he said and kissed the baby's head. "Will you hand me a tissue?" he asked Mac.

She pulled one from the box and handed it to him. He wiped Amira's cheeks and her nose. When he was done, she looked up at him and smiled. "Do you feel better?"

"Bewee," she said.

"I have an idea. Let's you and I go to the kitchen for a minute," he said getting up and carried Amira to the kitchen. Mac followed them into the kitchen.

Will sat the girl on the countertop and said, "stay right there." He reached into the refrigerator and got the milk out and put a little into a microwave safe cup.

Mac was standing in the doorway watching them. Will already was a great daddy.

When the microwave beeped Will tested the milk to make sure it wasn't too hot and put it into a sippy cup and held it out to Amira. She brought the cup to her mouth and took a sip and had a huge smile on her face.

"You like that?"

Amira nodded, excitedly.

"Good, you drink that up, baby," Will said standing next to her, running his hand over her head.

After taking a few sips Amira held the cup out to Will. "Are you done?"

She pushed the cup toward his mouth. "You want me to have some? Thank you," he said and took a sip and handed it back to Amira.

Mac was standing in the doorway with her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing and interrupting them.

Amira finished off the warm milk and handed the cup to Will. "Tank you," she said.

If this little girl didn't already have his heart she'd own it now. "You're welcome. Let's get you back in bed," he said picking her up off the countertop. When they reached the doorway, Amira reached for Mac.

Will stopped and tried to hand Amira off to Mac, but that wasn't what she wanted. She held onto Will's shirt and leaned over to kiss Mac. Mac kissed Amira and then led them back to Amira's room.

They got her settled and she quickly fell asleep. They quietly went back to their bedroom.

If Mackenzie had ever had any doubt about using her father's diplomatic connections to keep this child, the look on Will's face erased them all. He adored this little girl…it would kill him to let her go back to an uncertain future in the Middle East now. And Will had suffered too many loses and too much pain in his life already. She'd be damned if she'd see him lose his daughter.

Within six months she was theirs. Between Michael McHale's connections and the impossibly expensive health care Amira would need throughout her life, there was really no question that she was already in the best possible place she could be. With a loving, caring couple that had the finances to provide that care and had already proven their love and dedication throughout these past few months.

"Will? Please stop the tapping," Mackenzie pleaded, nearly a year later, settling her hand on his knee and halting the constant movement that was driving her insane. Amira was undergoing her open-heart surgery and everyone was tense. Mackenzie looked around the room and tears sprung to her eyes. Michael and Meggie were sitting on either side of her and Will, holding their hands and reassuring them. Sloan had gone to get coffee and doughnuts for everyone and Charlie was pacing the hall like the nervous honorary grandfather that he was. They had an amazing family surrounding them. She wasn't sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or the stress, but she was weepy just at the sight of all of them. She rubbed her belly and took a deep breath.

"You ok?" Will asked.

"No, I'm nervous and edgy and that means _she's_ doing somersaults in there," she told her husband, pointing toward her rounded belly. He laughed. Then he leaned forward and placed his head on her bump and whispered a few words to their second daughter. Sure enough, the kicking ceased.

"How do you do that?" she said, stunned. He could always calm Amelia down. It was the first name that had sprung to Will's lips when they found out they were having a girl. It was his mother's name…but it also sounded so similar to Amira.

It would give the girls a connection, he had told her solemnly. He never wanted Amira to feel different or any less special because she wasn't their biological child.

"She taught me how to be a father," Will said late one night, watching Amira sleep.

"You were born to be a father Will. You've been taking care of people your whole life. God help the young men who come knocking at our daughter's doors," Mackenzie giggled. He look horrified at the thought.

But that was still years off, thank God, so now they all sat and waited and prayed.

"Amira McAvoy?" a nurse called into the room. They all stood. "Come with me. Your daughter is in recovery. She did beautifully."

Will and Mackenzie barely gave a thought to all the people in the waiting room with them…they just barreled after the nurse toward recovery.

"Hi Peanut," Will said, pulling out a chair for Mackenzie and leaning over Amira. Her big, dark eyes looked up at him…wide with fear.

"It's ok. Momma and I are here," he told her. "Who's my number one girl?" he asked. Amira pointed toward herself.

"And who's my number two girl?" Will asked. Amira's chubby little arm pointed toward Mackenzie's belly. The two adults laughed.

"I remember the days when _I_ was your number one girl," Mac mumbled, but was secretly thrilled to see Amira's reaction to Will's questions.

"Shh," he hushed her, leaning over and placing a quick kiss on her lips. "You will always be the first woman I loved. They just stole my heart. Just remember…this whole parenthood thing was your idea Mac."

"And I'll never regret it," she said, watching as he carefully climbed into bed with their daughter and began to read one of her favorite books to her.

"Listen to the musn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me. Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."

The last lines of _Where the Sidewalk Ends_ always got to Mackenzie…they hit a little too close to home. Someday Amira and Amelia would know the story of how they all came to be a family. How their parents fought and separated and came back together, because that's what happened when you loved someone without boundaries. And then their love expanded to include Amira, because that's what happened when you loved without borders.

And then Amelia joined them and they were complete, because that's what happened when _you_ weren't the focus of your own life anymore. Everything became bigger and better and stronger when all that mattered was family.


End file.
